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latent virtue and perfection, which without fuch helps: are never able to make their appearance.

If my reader will give me leave to change the allufion fo foon upon him, I shall make use of the fame instance; to illuftrate the force of education, which Aristotle has brought to explain his doctrine of fubftantial forms, when he tells us that a ftatue lies hid in a block of marble; and that the art of the statuary only clears away the fuperfluous matter, and removes the rubbish. The figure is in the ftone, the sculptor only finds it. What Iculpture is to a block of marble, education is to an human foul. The philofopher, the faint, or the hero, the wife, the good, or the great man, very often lie hid and concealed in a plebeian, which a proper education might have dif-interred, and have brought to light. I am therefore much delighted with reading the accounts of favage nations, and with contemplating thofe virtues which are wild and uncultivated; to fee courage exerting itself in fiercenefs, refolution in obftinacy, wisdom in cunning, patience in fullennefs and despair.

Mens paffions operate variously, and appear in different kinds of actions, according as they are more or lefs rectified and fwayed by reafon. When one hears of negroes, who upon the death of their mafters, or upon changing their fervice, hang themselves upon the next tree, as it frequently happens in our American plantations, who can forbear admiring their fidelity, though it expreffes itself in fo dreadful a manner? What might not that favage greatness of foul which appears in these poor wretches on many occafions, be raised to, were it rightly cultivated? And what colour of excufe can there be for the contempt with which we treat this part of our fpecies? That we should not put them upon the common foot of humanity, that we fhould only fet an infignificant fine upon the man who murders them; nay, that we should, as much as in us lies, cut them off from the profpects of happiness in another world as well as n this, and deny them that which we look upon as the proper means for attaining it?

Since I am engaged on this fubject, I cannot forbear mentioning a story which I have lately heard, and which

is fo well attefted, that I have no manner of reason to fufpect the truth of it. I may call it a kind of wild tragedy that paffed about twelve years ago at St. Chriftopher's, one of our British leeward iflands. The negroes, who were the perfons concerned in it, were all of them the flaves of a gentleman who is now in England.

This gentleman among his negroes had a young woman, who was looked upon as a moft extraordinary beauty by those of her own complexion. He had at the fame time two young fellows who were likewife negroes and flaves, remarkable for the comeliness of their perfons, and for the friendship which they bore to one another. It unfortunately happened that both of them fell in love with the female negroe abovementioned, who would have been very glad to have taken either of them for her husband, provided they could agree between themselves which should be the man. But they were both fo paffionately in love with her, that neither of them could think of giving her up to his rival; and at the fame time were fo true to one another, that neither of them would think of gaining her without his friend's confent. The torments of these two lovers were the difcourfe of the family to which they belonged, who could not forbear obferving the ftrange complication of paffions which perplexed the hearts of the poor negroes, that often dropped expreffions of the uneafinefs they underwent, and how impoffible it was for either of them ever to be happy.

After a long ftruggle between love and friendship, truth and jealoufy, they one day took a walk together into a wood, carrying their mistress along with them where, after abundance of lamentations, they stabbed her to the heart, of which the immediately died. A flave who was at his work not far from the place where this aftonishing piece of cruelty was committed, hearing the shrieks of the dying perfon, ran to fee what was the occafion of them. He there difcovered the woman lying dead upon the ground, with the two negroes on each fide of her, kiffing the dead corps, weeping over it, and beating their breafts in the utmoft agonies of

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grief and defpair. He immediately ran to the English family with the news of what he had feen; who upon coming to the place faw the woman dead, and the two negroes expiring by her with wounds they had given themselves.

We fee in this amazing inftance of barbarity, what ftrange diforders are bred in the minds of those men whofe paffions are not regulated by virtue, and difciplined by reafon. Though the action which I have recited is in itself full of guilt and horror, it proceeded from a temper of mind which might have produced very noble fruits, had it been informed and guided by a fuitable education.

It is therefore an unfpeakable bleffing to be born in thofe parts of the world where wisdom and knowledge flourish, though it must be confeffed, there are, even in these parts, feveral poor uninftructed perfons, who are but little above the inhabitants of thofe nations of which I have been here fpeaking; as those who have had the advantage of a more liberal education, rife above one another by feveral different degrees of perfection. For to return to our ftatue in the block of marble, we fee it fometimes only begun to be chipped, fometimes roughhewn, and but just sketched into an human figure; fonetimes we fee the man appearing diftinctly in all his limbs and features, and fometimes we find the figure wrought up to a great elegancy, but feldom meet with any to which the hand of a Phidias or Praxiteles could not give several nice touches and finishings.

Difcourfes of morality, and reflections upon human nature, are the best means we can make ufe of to improve our minds, and gain a true knowledge of ourfelves, and confequently to recover our fouls out of the vice, ignorance, and prejudice, which naturally cleave to them. I have all along profeft myself in this paper a promoter of thefe great ends; and I flatter myself that I do from day to day contribute fomething to the polithing of mets minds: at leaft my defign is laudable, whatever the execution may be. I must confefs I am not a little encouraged in it by many letters which I receive from. unknown hands, in approbation of my endeavours; and must take this opportunity of returning my

No 216. thanks to those who write them, and excufing myself for not inferting several of them in my papers, which I am fenfible would be a very great ornament to them. Should I publish the praises which are fo well penned, they would do honour to the perfons who write them, but my publishing of them would I fear be a fufficient inftance to the world that I did not deserve them.

C.

N° 216.

Wednesday, November 7.

Siquidem herclè possis, nil prius, neque fortius;
Verùm fi incipies, neque perficies naviter,
Atque, ubi pati non poteris, cùm nemo expetet,
Infectâ pace, ultrò ad eam venies, indicans
Te amare, & ferre non poffe: actum eft, ilicet,
Perifti: eludet, ubi te victum fenferit.

TER. Eun. A&t. 1. Sc. r.

If indeed you can keep to your refolution, you will act a noble and a manly part: but if, when you have fet about it, your courage fails you, and you make a voluntary fubmiffion, acknowledging the violence of your paffion, and your inability to hold out any longer, all is over with you: you are undone, and may go hang yourfelf; fhe will infult over you, when he finds you her flave.

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SIR,

To the SPECTATOR.

THIS is to inform you, that Mr. Freeman had no

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fooner taken coach, but his lady was taken with terrible fit of the vapours, which it is feared will • make her miscarry, if not endanger her life; therefore, dear fir, if you know of any receist that is good againft this fashionable reigning diftemrer, be pleafed to communicate it for the good of the public, and you will oblige

• Yours,

'A. NOEWILL.

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'Mr. SPECTATOR,

THE uproar was fo great as foon as I had read the Spectator concerning Mrs. Freeman, that after many revolutions in her temper, of raging, fwooning, railing, fainting, pitying herfelf, and reviling her hufband, upon an accidental coming in of a neighbouring lady, who fays fhe has writ to you alfo, the had nothing left for it but to fall in a fit. I had the honour to read the paper to her, and have a pretty good command of my countenance and temper on 'fuch occafions; and foon found my hiftorical name to 'be Tom Meggot in your writings, but concealed myself ' until I faw how it affected Mrs. Freeman. She looked frequently at her husband, as often at me; and she ' did not tremble as the filled tea; until fhe came to the circumftance of Armstrong's writing out a piece of Tully for an opera tune: then fhe burst out, She was expofed, fhe was deceived, she was wronged and abufed. The tea-cup was thrown in the fire; and without taking vengeance on her fpoufe, fhe faid of me, that I was a pretending coxcomb, a meddler that knew not what it was to interpofe in fo nice an affair as between a man and his wife. To which Mr. Freeman, Madam, were I lefs fond of you than I am, I should not have 'taken this way of writing to the SPECTATOR, to in'forin a woman whom God and nature has placed under my direction, with what I requeft of her; but fince you are fo indifcreet as not to take the hint which I gave you in that paper, I must tell you, madam, in fo many words, that you have for a long and tedious fpace of time acted a part unfuitable to the • fenfe you ought to have of the fubordination in which you are placed. And I must acquaint you once for all, 'that the fellow without, ha Tom! (here the footman "entered and anfwered, madam) firrah, do not you know my voice? look upon me when I fpeak to you: I fay, niadam, this fellow here is to know of me myself, ' whether I am at leifure to fee company or not. I am "from this hour mafter of this houfe; and my business in it, and every where elfe, is to behave myfelf in fuch a manner, as it fhall be hereafter an honour to you to

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